ĐELIĆ: 140m EUR for projects in region

(Photo: ekapija)

The Agreement on establishment of Investment framework for Western Balkans, which provides 140m EUR for the projects in the region, was signed today (December 9, 2009) in Brussels.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Božidar Đelić, who took part in that meeting, said to the press that that would enable mobilization of additional 2.2 billion EUR worth of non-commercial loans.

- By signing the Agreement, Europe and three European investment institutions show that they will finance almost everything that Serbia decides to build in the domain of infrastructure, energy and SME support in the years to come - said Đelić.

The Agreement on forming the Investment framework for Western Balkans was signed by the EU Enlargement Commissar, Oli Rehn, the Head of Swedish Diplomacy, Karl Bilt, and the representatives of European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Development Bank of the Council of Europe.

According to Đelić, already in the first phase, out of granted 26m EUR worth of non-refundable means, Serbia obtained 8.5m EUR for several projects, including the preparation of the study for Corridor 10.

On behalf of the region, Đelić suggested formation of the Balkan Technology Fund of 100m EUR for small and mid-sized enterprises, formation of an international railway company for the needs of construction of the railway route of Corridor 10 through Serbia because that exceeds the country's financial capacity.

He also suggested that the money from the EU budget should be invested in structural reforms, especially in the fields of education, health care, pension and social policies.

The meeting dedicated to Western Balkans and the problems related to the economic crisis, which was organized by the European Commission, Swedish Presidency of EU and the Regional Cooperation Council, was attended by the officials of the regional countries, members of EU, as well as the representatives of the USA, Russia, Turkey and several other countries.